Orlando police arrested Dale Smith on Wednesday and charged him with second-degree murder in the Michelle Parker case. Michelle Parker, 33, was last seen on Nov. 17, 2011, after dropping her children off at Smith’s home.
The arrest came nearly 15 years after Parker disappeared. Police Chief Eric Smith said investigators recently found additional evidence and revisited older material before making the arrest.
Eric Smith on the evidence
Chief Eric Smith said detectives used reexamined testimony, conflicting statements made by the suspect and digital forensics to build the case. He said that work produced more detailed location data and communications between devices.
“Over the past year, we expanded our investigative team looking into this case and took a fresh, focused look at all of the evidence. We reexamined testimony and conflicting statements made by the suspect, and used advanced and digital forensics to uncover and analyze additional evidence,” Eric Smith said.
He also said the detectives kept working the case even as many of the original investigators retired. “These are all full-time homicide detectives. They’re working a full homicide load,” he said.
Michelle Parker in 2011
Police said Parker was last seen at the Carter Glen Condominiums in the Lee Vista area. They said she and Smith were in a dispute over a $5,000 engagement ring, and that she had appeared on an episode of The People’s Court with him on Nov. 17, 2011.
Chief Eric Smith said Dale Smith was surprised to be arrested at his workplace Wednesday. The arrest closes one gap in the case, but the record still leaves the exact sequence that led police to file a second-degree murder charge unwritten.
